By ANGEL RIVERA I was a senior in high school when I came across an advertisement on Facebook for a program called World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms (WWOOF). To participate in WWOOF, all you have to do is sign up online and pay a one-time application fee of $40. Once that is taken care of, you can select an organic farm where you would work in exchange for room and board, meals, and a fulfilling educational and cultural experience. With a passion for the environment and learning new things, becoming a WWOOFer seemed like the perfect opportunity to pursue my interests on a budget. I have WWOOFed twice now - each time left me wishing I could do it another ten times. My first visit was to a small town near Grand Rapids, Michigan, where a friend and I shared a room in the host's house for a week. It was a dairy farm, so I got a hands-on experience learning about cows and the milking process. I also helped build a chicken coop and sold eggs and milk at the local farmers' market on Sunday mornings. For my second trip, I bought an Amtrak ticket for a little less than $100 and rode solo to a small town near Hannibal, MN for two weeks. This farm was mainly an apiary and vegetable garden. Here I stayed in a log cabin type structure that was cozy. I helped build an electric fence for pigs, worked extensively on a vegetable farm, and messed with a few honeybee hives they had at their location.
Working as a WWOOFer is not your typical farming experience. On these organic farms, we learn about sustainable living, and use natural fertilizers and never use hormones to expedite the process for profit. The whole point of working on an organic farm is to be self-conscious about what you put in your body and what you do to the land you farm on. Sustainable farming really allows natural habitats and all its life to be less threatened. Green farming is no easy task, and the work can push you to your limits at times, but it is truly rewarding work. WWOOFing helped me grow as a person. I learned many valuable lessons that I really cannot summarize into words. I made relationships with other people in different states, played some awesomely weird local games such as street bowling, blew glass, tried different foods, and went on runs and hikes whenever possible. People are different everywhere you go, and immersing yourself in something like that is truly a once in a lifetime thing. If this at all calls your attention in the slightest way, do it. It’s the best way to learn about farming while having an amazing time for an amazing price. Check out their link to learn more > https://wwoofusa.org
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |